cognitive interview AO1 Flashcards
what is a cognitive interview?
a method of interviewing eyewitnesses to help them retrieve more accurate memories and recall
what did Ronald Fisher and Edward Gieselman 1992 argue about the eyewitness testimony?
argued that interviewing eyewitnesses should be based on psychological insights
what are the 4 features of the cognitive interview?
- report everything
- reinstate the context
- reverse the order
- change perspective
what does REPORT EVERYTHING mean and how does it help?
- witnesses are encouraged to include every single detail even though it may be irrelevant
- important as this info may trigger other important memories
- acts as a cue
what does REINSTATE CONTEXT mean and how does it help?
- witness should return to the original crime scene and imagine the environment e.g. weather and their emotions e.g. sad/happy
- related to context-dependent forgetting
- external cues
what does REVERSE THE ORDER mean and how does it help?
- events should be recalled from a different order from the crime scene
- it prevents people from reporting their expectations of how the event happened
- prevents dishonesty as its harder for people to provide an untruthful account if its reversed
what does CHANGE PERSPECTIVE mean and how does it help?
- witness should recall the incident from other peoples perspectives
- done to disrupt the effects of expectations and the effect of schema on recall
- schema you have for a particular setting generate expectations of what would have happened
what are the main additional features?
- Encourage The Witness to relax and speak slowly
- Offer comments to help clarify witness statements
- Adapt questions to suit the understanding of individual Witnesses
- know when to keep eye contact
why does Fisher et al focus on social dynamics between the eyewitness and the interviewer?
-knowing when to make eye contact and went to diminish it (calm and comfortable) - increasing reports with the eyewitness increases the likelihood that they will answer truthfully
